Growing abroad

There is no doubt that CATEC has become one of the most advanced technological centres in Spain and a reference in R&D in Europe, especially in areas such as drones and unmanned systems, robotics and industry 4.0, additive manufacturing (3D printing) or non-destructive inspection, which are already marking the present and future of the aerospace industry and other important productive sectors. And not because we say it, but the results that we have achieved throughout our 11 years of history and professional trajectory talk by themselves.

We announced some days ago a new milestone in the history of FADA-CATEC, and especially in our internationalization and growth process towards foreign markets. This is no other than the first project in the field of technological developments in 3D printing outside the European continent, thanks to the collaboration with the company INVAP Argentina, which means our leap crossing the ocean to Latin America, precisely in an area of great value such as components and parts manufacturing for satellites and launchers for the space sector.

In a year in which precisely the city of Seville is assuming and leading the presidency of the Community of Ariane Cities (CVA), and Andalusia is boosting its growth in the aeronautical sector reached in the last decade, we are convinced that this new CATEC project will contribute to show the high technological and industrial capacity that our industry has and to continue encouraging our companies to keep on on this good path, betting on R&D and high added value activities.

The latest figures for the year 2017 are again clear and consolidate Andalusia as a region that has not stopped growing in turnover, employment and exports in the aerospace sector, and that already faces the future with new challenges and illusions. The new strategic plan of the sector must be a key element in all this, and the base for the Andalusian aerospace sector to continue growing abroad, with the support of all the agents involved and with the R&D and the promotion of innovation as main allies. Only this way will strengthen our position as a of the fastest growing industries in the European and international level, and with better prospects for the coming years.

Joaquín Rodríguez Grau
Director of CATEC

News

CATEC collaborates with INVAP Argentina in the development of 3D printing components for its satellite missions

This is the first project of our technology centre in Latin America and a solid bet on the internationalization of its developments in this type of technology outside the European scope

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CATEC and the Argentine company INVAP have initiated a collaboration for the manufacture of components for space applications using the metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology. This collaboration has focused on consulting for the development of highly optimized components, designed by Argentine engineers, where CATEC has contributed its knowledge in 3D printing technology in the sector to ensure its manufacturing process and its quality, too. In this way, INVAP continues with its policy of innovation and development, where it has managed to be a benchmark in the Latin American continent in the design and construction of complex technological systems, with a history of forty years in the Argentine market and thirty years on the international one.

The CATEC’s Chief Technical Officer, Fernando Lasagni, said that "this step allows us to initiate the internationalization of our developments in additive manufacturing outside the European scope. We do it for a company that has been transformed, in its 40 years of history, into a technological reference in Argentina and Latin America, and which is now developing its first flight components". The CATEC’s team in charge of these developments is completed by Antonio Periñan (Head of Additive Manufacturing unit) and the engineers Javier Santaolaya, Alvaro Herrera and Daniel Hervas.

In words of the INVAP’s aerospace area manager, Gabriel Cristian Absi, "the company is constantly seeking to incorporate innovative and disruptive technology in its space products, in order to obtain satellites of greater performance and competitiveness from every point of view. That is why we have decided to add additive manufacturing technology to our satellites to reduce their weight, which translates into a lower launch cost".

With seven satellites designed, built and placed in orbit, INVAP has become a reference in the international scenario of satellite technology and today is the only Latin American company with the capacity to generate complete satellite projects, from the mission concept to the implementation in orbit of the satellite and its operation, except launching.